Simultaneous biodegradation of λ-cyhalothrin pesticide and Vicia faba growth promotion under greenhouse conditions

lambda-cyhalothrin is a widely used synthetic pyrethroid insecticide and its persistence in plant, soil and water exerts a detrimental effect on humans as well as the environment. There are many studies regarding isolated bacteria capable of degrading lambda-cyhalothrin in vitro. However, limited work has been done examining the microbial degradation of lambda-cyhalothrin together with plant growth promotion under greenhouse conditions. In this study, 43 bacterial strains were isolated from heavily polluted soil with lambda-cyhalothrin by the enrichment technique. The plant growth promotion characteristics of all isolates were evaluated. The results revealed that five isolates were potential in lambda-cyhalothrin biodegradation at high concentration (1200 mg/L) within only 24 h together with their high plant growth promotion abilities. The morphological, biochemical and 16S rDNA sequence analyses identified the isolates as Bacillus subtilis strains. The GC/MS analysis revealed that the selected isolates reached high levels of degradation after only two days, the degradation percentage ranged from 95.72 to 99.52% after 48 h of incubation. Furthermore, the degradation pathway for complete detoxification and metabolism of lambda-cyhalothrin was established. Moreover, greenhouse experiment was conducted, the results indicate that the application of seed coat significantly enhanced Vicia faba seedling growth and caused an increase from 38.4 to 40.2% percentage of fresh and dry weight, respectively compared to untreated control. All isolates were effective to remove the pesticide residues in Vicia faba seedlings and recorded the highest degradation percentage of 83.79 under greenhouse conditions. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Bacillus subtilis strains isolated in this study have a dual potential role in complete mineralization of lambda-cyhalothrin residues in vivo as well as effective biofertilization for future use in sustainable agriculture.